ABUJA, NOVEMBER 19, 2016 – President Mohammadu Buhari on Friday lamented that the woes in the oil sector had been the cause of the current recession in the country. Speaking while inaugurating the governing boards of three parastatals of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Buhari noted that the boards were inaugurated at a time when the global petroleum industry is witnessing a downturn in purchase.

The parastatals are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).

The President while inaugurating the boards yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, charged members to bring on board their worth of experiences to assist the ministry of petroleum and NNPC chart ways out of the current economic challenges facing the country.

He said the new boards will be chaired by the minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachukwu and are composed of selected persons who have both the experience and knowledge to drive the NNPC into harnessing its potentials as well as fulfill its expectations for the nation.

Speaking, President Buhari expressed regret that this had also translated into dwindling production by most producer nations. “Nigeria has been hit by the misfortunes of oil industry but several countries have been hit much harder,” he said.

He also explained that the boards were coming at a time when Nigeria had been hit by the misfortune of the oil and gas sector, with the global petroleum industry witnessing a downturn in purchase which has also translated into dwindling production by most producer nations.

The President explained that members of the boards must ensure propriety in the management of the country’s most important national institutions.

He said: “You should advise the minister and the corporation management on the most effective way for Nigeria to get more money from our assets. “My expectations from the members of these boards is for them to ensure that the NNPC charts a way to face current economic challenges.

“These will involve a careful look at the ongoing reforms designed to steer the corporation to archive better performance and efficiency. In addition, you should explore more innovative ways to resolve the joint venture funding constraints and other investment issues.”

Kachukwu in his response on behalf of the board members reassured the president that the boards will work assiduously to fulfil their mandate to the Nigerian people in line with the disposition of the administration to entrench transparency in the country.